Why the “Do Nothing” approach to illness is often the best policy for long-term health, especially in young children with a developing immune system.
You’ve likely heard of unschooling, a homeschooling philosophy where no formal curriculum is typically used and children learn based on what they are motivated to seek out and master on their own as well as natural life experiences.
While I don’t homeschool myself and so cannot attest to the validity of this educational philosophy, I would like to suggest that open-minded parents consider a similar approach to childhood illness.
When a child seems to be coming down with a cold or flu, how about this for a novel idea…DO NOTHING.
I followed the Do Nothing approach to illness for 25 years raising my 3 children (who are all now healthy adults).
At first, I did it without even realizing exactly what I was doing.
Then, in 2004, I formally put it into practice after attending a talk at the Wise Traditions Conference by Dr. Tom Cowan MD.
He discussed how illness is actually beneficial to the body.
It is a way for valuable detoxification to occur so that an improved level of vitality and maturity can be experienced by the child once the illness is past.
This talk was a light bulb moment for me!
I suddenly realized that my Father, a retired Family Physician, had followed the exact same philosophy while I was growing up.
Old school medicine is to do nothing and let the illness run its course, focusing on rest and nourishment alone. Intervention ONLY occurs if it becomes evident that the patient cannot handle the situation on his/her own.
My Physician Father’s rule of thumb was to wait two full weeks before doing anything therapeutically to facilitate the conclusion of the illness.
The result?
He rarely if ever needed to intervene at all as my brothers and sisters and I got well just fine on our own within that span of time.
Even when I got salmonella at a fast food chicken joint when I was 13, Dad did nothing.
It was a struggle, but I recovered fully within about 10 days.
No trip to the hospital, no saline drip, no antibiotics.
I realize this might seem extreme to some people, but my Dad had his reasons, and he obviously made the correct judgment that I was strong enough to handle it on my own.
Ditto when I had strep throat the summer I turned 15.
Do you need antibiotics for strep? In my case, my Dad never even considered antibiotics.
Home remedies for strep throat were not used either, and I still recovered completely with no complications.
Most interesting is that I have never gotten strep throat again despite repeated and close contact exposures (in college dorms, for example).
My children seem to be immune to strep too and have never gotten strep except for one instance where my youngest fell ill, but quickly recovered without meds….the same as when I was 15.
Did my immune system/no meds recovery give me a level of immunity from strep infections that I possibly passed along to my kids?
Anecdotal for sure but possible especially given that I practiced extended breastfeeding with all of them.
Too many parents in my view are far too quick to treat a child’s illness, either by running to the doctor for a prescription or by dashing to the healthfood store to obtain a natural or herbal-based remedy.
Trying to stop a cold in its tracks when it is first coming on and hasn’t quite taken hold yet is not a wise approach in my view.
Now, I don’t want to come off as anti-treatment here.
If a child is acutely ill and clearly not handling an illness sufficiently well on his or her own, then by all means seek out assistance from the healing professional of your choice.
As for me, though, my first course of action is to Do Nothing.
Echinacea to boost immunity during cold/flu season?
No.
Elderberry syrup to ward off a cold that you feel is coming on?
Pass.
A “preventative” dose of antibiotics because strep is making the rounds at school?
Absolutely not!
Garlic drops or pills for an early cough?
No thanks.
Ibuprofen or Tylenol to bring down a high fever?
NEVER.
Why?
A child with a high fever will get well so amazingly fast if you let the fever do its job and having the child sip diluted fruit juice to provide sufficient blood sugar to fuel that cranked-up metabolism will head off the risk of febrile seizures.
I don’t attempt to squelch symptoms and I don’t want to give my children’s immune system a crutch.
Letting the body go through the natural progression of meeting a pathogenic challenge head-on and resolving it with no outside interference is something that I have observed to improve and elevate a child’s wellness to a whole new level post-illness.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that adopting this approach resulted in children who grew consistently more sturdy as time went on.
The results?
My three children are now healthy adults with no gut issues, in my view, mainly because I never used a single round of antibiotics raising them.
I think that’s a pretty decent track record!
Again, this article is not intended to suggest that antibiotics and medications are always bad.
On the contrary, meds can be life-saving and should absolutely be used if needed in critical emergencies.
However, a healthy child who is simply achy and feverish is not a candidate for meds in my opinion!
Ok, I Want to Do Nothing, But I Need to Do Something!
If the Do Nothing approach strikes a chord with you, congratulations!
I think you will be pleasantly surprised and amply rewarded by implementing this approach with children who rarely get sick and when they do, recover quickly with no assistance or complications.
If you are an action-oriented person, however, here are some Do Nothing suggestions that will help your child along the path to quick recovery without in any way hampering or short-circuiting the natural healing and detoxification process that is taking place:
- Rest, rest, rest. Our culture is way too busy and overscheduled. Sometimes illness is just a way for the body to say “slow down and take it easy”. Honor that message and encourage your children to just rest with no stimulation of any kind except perhaps a good book.
- Homemade broth, stocks, and soups. Nourishment is important during illness to provide the body with the ammunition necessary to win the battle and come out on top. There is no food better during illness than soup made with nourishing, mineral-rich, and easy-to-digest broth or stock. If you don’t know how to make homemade soup, you need to learn. Soups from the store are no comparison and should be avoided. Commercial soup will likely hinder the healing process instead of helping it as it contains little to no nourishment with vitality-zapping MSG in large amounts.
- Chiropractic adjustment. Some people find that even a minor misalignment of the spine can make illness worse. Getting a gentle adjustment to the spine can free up blockages and facilitate healing in a beneficial way.
- Homeopathy. I used homeopathy when my children all had whooping cough (pertussis) at the same time. My youngest was only 15 months old. Homeopathy works with the body, not against it, and does not stifle natural healing mechanisms. A homeopathic remedy can prove useful in certain cases of illness particularly if it is a chronic condition that doesn’t seem to resolve on its own permanently.
- Cleansing baths. Soaking in a warm Epsom salt bath to get the elimination routes flowing via the skin and colon can be extremely helpful to natural, med-free recovery. A fever bath can also encourage the body’s natural immune response. These are typically the only things I will do if there is “a cold coming on” as they assist detoxification from the toxins that caused the cold in the first place.
More Information
Since I read “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration” by Weston Price, I have come to appreciate bone broths and other “ritual delicacies.” I also loved “The Healing Power of Illness.”
Here are a couple links on the language that people use to relate to health and wellness:
http://jrfibonacci.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/the-myth-of-incurable-illness/
http://jrfibonacci.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/nlp-and-demonic-possession-by-a-diagnosis-of-depression/
http://jrfibonacci.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/appreciating-the-language-of-an-incurable-diagnosis/
I think I just did this with my daughter’s first cold. She was about 3.5 months old and got a very mild cold. I gave her some homeopathic tabs, and we used a humidifier, that was it. No tylenol for her fever, no cough medicine.
I am 44 years old and had been plagued with ear infections and strep and tonsillitis my entire life. I had my first three children when Iwas in my early 20s and treated them just like my mother treated me. Antibiotics, antibiotics, antibiotics. And of course they got all their shots.
I have been working for the past 6 years to heal myself of a lifetime of antibiotic use, and made many, many health changes, and finally had my tonsils removed last year. I reasoned that though my tonsils might be able to heal themselves, I might not have enough lifespan left for that to happen. What followed was nothing short of a miracle. A pregnancy, after 18 years of infertility, one month after the surgery, and my body just righted itself swiftly, after the surgery. Food allergies went away, aches and pains, shortness of breath, frequent illnesses, etc…all gone.
After the birth of my baby, I unfortunately contracted septicemia. Sorry, but I wasn’t brave enough to go through that without antibiotics. I was given very high doses of IV antibiotics and contracted a systemic yeast infection. All of this my body worked through very well, until I was prescribed, and unfortunately took diflucan (like an antibiotic for yeast). It ruined my digestion, old aches and pains have returned, my vision has gone to pot (I need cheaters now), the old fatigue and weakness are back, I stopped losing weight and grew a pot in the front. I lost my mojo.
I am still miles healthier than I was, but I am so disappointed and I don’t know how to undo it.
My baby, unlike my other children has not been, and will not be vaccinated. My other three children suffered from ear infections constantly. She has only had one mild cold and did not get an ear infection from it. She has a healthier, happier mama than my other children did, and she is healthier and happier too. I wish I could undo all the damage that was done to my older kids, but it’s water under the bridge. All I can do now is encourage them to support themselves nutritionally.
What is most striking to me is how much difference good health makes in every area. I happily do things for my youngest that I begrudged my older children, because I was sick, unhealthy and tired. I don’t worry that I won’t be able to do things, so when I have to do something (like wake up at night), I don’t get agitated and upset because I worry about how it will affect the next day. Because it won’t. I’ll be fine. Because of this it is actually easier for me to express my love for her, and she responds like a person who lives in a loving environment. She sleeps well, is healthy and happy.
Jill thank you for sharing your story. I just turned 42 and have been considering trying for a third child. I too have a history of being put on medications growing up and like you and am now healtheir than I’ve ever been before after years of cleaning up my diet (but still have some way to go) I have had some resistance to the idea wondering how my health and energy level will be during the pregnancy and after but also like you said I am so much of a happier better mother than I’ve ever been because of my improved health and my wish is it will carry through the pregnancy and after. You give me great hope if you can do it at 44, that this CAN be my experience at 42. Thank you for the ray of hope I was looking for!
You’re welcome Tracey – the pregnancy wasn’t without its complications – I had GD, but I have always known my body has difficulty processing sugar, so it wasn’t a big surprise.
I did surprise the nutritionist by not needing to use insulin for several weeks after it was predicted I would need it, because I did not follow their instructions to eat way more carbohydrates than I usually do. I did need to eat more carbohydrates than I was accustomed to eating in order to feel good, but I didn’t eat as much as they told me to.
Even with all of that, I felt better during the pregnancy than I have at any time previously that I can remember during my lifetime.
I feel like the dietary and other changes I made paved the way for the tonsillectomy. It was like my tonsils were the last thing in the way of my recovery, and when they were gone, even though I had a severe hemorrhage which required a second surgery, that afternoon I was released from the hospital and my body began to heal at a pace that I can only describe as miraculous. I had a fever that lasted 4 days that made me feel terriffic. I felt like I was in a pleasant sauna, and one month after that I became pregnant. That pregnancy was different from any of my other three, in that I felt absolutely teriffic (except for mild morning sickness). The third trimester was challenging, and I felt like I would have liked to have had a few more months to really recover and heal after a lifetime of illness and then the surgery, but in all, I felt great.
I think this is great advice, but also needs to be thought through if this is realistic for your family. I feel that in todays world with everyone’s compromised immune systems many of us won’t be able to get over these illnesses and could in fact turn into secondary problems which are more severe if medical intervention is not taken.
Since we have changed our diets and lifestyle the last 3 years we have not been nearly as sick (no sinus infections, no flu, no strep, no ear infections – previously someone would get these every year). If we do get sick (cold or allergy issues) we bounce back very quickly and with no medications needed. However I feel it is because our immune systems are not depressed with processed foods, chemicals, sugar, etc. It knows what to do because we support it with fermented foods, broths, organic produce, pasured meat & eggs. The only medical intervention we have needed has been for broken bones and sprained wrists. Still we have not turned to conventional medication and instead use Young Living essential oils as our pain relievers. They work by building up your body and not tearing it down.
Just speculating (I’m more or less on the same page as you): I wonder how much of your family’s immunity is related primarily to the doing-nothing in response to illness and how much is preventive due to a healthy diet. When we first began treating my older daughter (then just turning 4YO) for systemic candida with the Body Ecology Diet, none of us got sick for the 2 months we followed it strictly despite having a child in preschool, aka human petri dish. I’ve always attributed it to diet first and foremost.
We’re now eating mostly Paleo (almost the same diet) and are still some of the healthiest people we know, either not getting sick at all or never getting past the initial fighting-it-off stages. I do find that my youngest in particular has an “immune crash” with sugar: 2 years ago we made Christmas cookies and I let them have the broken ones; 2 weeks later she had pneumonia. 🙁 (That ended up needing an antibiotic IV after she got more and more scary-listless.)
Sarah, were your kids vaccinated?
I’ve never believed in running to the doctor for colds and flu, either. But strep is another story. It usually comes on a lot quicker than a cold, with a high fever and headache. Untreated, strep throat can quickly lead to a more severe illness such as rheumatic fever (a serious heart condition) or acute nephritis (which can damage your kidneys), which can both be fatal. Along with that, there is also new evidence that is pointing to it being related to OCD (Obsessive-compulsive Disorder). They are calling this PANDAS. So be careful, people.
My very good friend, who is also very natural in every way, feeds her family very nourishing, clean food, including broths, CLO, etc, just got a PANDAS diagnosis on her 4 yrs son who recently had strep. I’m not exactly sure how they treated the Strep but my bet is that they addressed it minimally. The advice in this article is great for a lot of people, but is VERY ill advised for some. We personally take what we can use from any and all health info and decide to leave some advice behind, but I hate to think there are people out there who would follow all of what they read, even from from excellent sources, such as this blog and it turn out very wrong for them. I think this article was great and is very close to how we live, but should have more cautions in it, myself.
Dr. Mendelsohn in his book How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor says that in 30+ years of practice as a pediatrician he only saw 2 (I think) cases of this. He said the only time RHD or nephritis occurs is if the person has had problems in these areas previously, or if there is a family history of such. Other than those times, he felt that antibiotics were more harmful than beneficial for strep (in the long run).
My daughter had strep a month ago and we treated it successfully with herbs, garlic, oregano essential oil, several homemade concoctions, and homeopathy, along with homemade chicken stock.
Great protocol! You want to fight strep, not just ignore it and do nothing. We use Oregano Oil for sure for bad infections such as this.
How exactly did you know it was Strep?
I’m in agreement with your words, as usual. I’ve been a swimming instructor for over 8 years and I teach little kids… I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve been sneezed on, coughted upone and touched by sick children and yet in those 8 years I’ve only been sick once! I’ve never had a flu shoot, don’t take anitbiotics nor does my family. My son is 12 and daughter 15. We rarley go to the doctor and have found the wait it out works well for people with healthy immune systems.
Great post and I’ll have to say it is not anecdotal! We have a similar approach, and I know many who do. It does really work 🙂 We are raised to think that it is counter intuitive, we must do something the moment our kids are well. But it’s true, when you let the body just deal with it – it has a great immune strengthening outcome! Thankfully there are meds for true emergencies, when it is a matter of life and death.
Hi Sarah,
I found this so interesting and have, most of the time, followed this method when anyone in my family is sick. Bone broths have proved especially helpful. And of course sticking with our usual routine of cod liver oil and butter oil. And the good news is that we rarely get sick.
But I have one question for you. I realize you are not a doctor, but possibly you have some ideas. Three years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer. I will eventually have to be put on daily oral chemo so as to avoid a stroke or worse (I am told). I have a very nice doc who has been very patient with me and my do nothing approach but there will come a time that do nothing could risk death. What are your thoughts?
Thanks so much. I really appreciate all the great work you do!
Mary
In the case of cancer do you have to do something. However there are alternative treatments for cancer that you will want to research. Read the book “God’s Way to Ultimate Health”. Or watch the movie “The Beautiful Truth” with the Gerson Therapy. There is also research about Young Living Oils fighting cancer. The information is out there on the internet and don’t just sit there and rely on your doctor to provide all the info.
Also, Cancer: Step Outside the Box. INCREDIBLE BOOK! 🙂
Mary,
I agree with Eileen that you do have to do something and that you should not rely on your doctor to tell you everything or be the sole source of your health information. But be careful on what you trust. It’s fairly evident from posts on this board that there are many out there just trying to sell you a cure and a hope (see Nikole@…)
I have had the unfortunate experience of having to deal with people who have relied on “miracle” or “natural” cures only to see them die from diseases that could have been handled with the appropriate medical therapy. Working in a hospice you see it all. I’m sure some things work. But please be careful.
Hi Mary,
I hope you find the information you need to cure yourself, may I make a small contribution by sharing with you my cancer cures facebook page, which has links to some excellent sites.
http://www.facebook.com/alternativeshowcancercures.
All the best,
Tony
Also check out the Cancer Battle Plan Book she cured herself of bone cancer and check into Ann Wigmores work she cured many cancer patients w/out chemo.
While I completely agree that we as Americans have become a highly antibiotic driven society and that am I believer in often letting illnesses run their course, such as colds, stomach bugs, etc, there are some illnesses and infections that can be cause even more damage to the body by not having them promptly treated. Some big ones I see as I work in healthcare are strep (which can lead to valvular damage in the heart), pertussis (if allowed to progress) in an infant can fatal, rheumatic fever can lead to heart disease and several bacterial infections such as MRSA and VRE would be very dangerous to allow to run their course as they can only be eradicated with antibiotics and without prompt treatment, could quickly lead to sepsis and death. I’m sure there are more but these are the ones that come to mind at the moment. It just totally depends on what kinda of illness you’re dealing with.